A Leap of Faith
by Metallicafangirl
Summary: Cole believes his life to be normal. When he discovers it isn't, his world is thrown upside down, and he's in for the ride fo his life. OC-centric.
1. Shocking Revelations

I SWORE to myself that I'd never do this, but here I am. What is it I swore I'd never do? Write an OC HP story. I don't like OC's personally, but this idea just got stuck in my head and wouldn't leave until I wrote it down. 

Hopefully, my OC will be believable. I swear it's not a Mary-Sue. Nor a Larry-Sue. If you are easily offended, do not read this; a few four-letter words appear. 

*****'

It was a perfectly ordinary school day at Aton High School. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the students were attending their classes. The only thing different about the day was that it was still only mid-August, too soon for most schools to have begun their term. Aton, however had begun their school year early this year, much to the students dislike. 

Most students were attending their classes, but whether they were listening or not there was no way of knowing. One student, with his school-books carelessly strewn in front of him, was skipping his class. Instead, he opted to catch up on his sleep, half-lying, face on his crossed arms, on a table. 

Aton had no official school uniform, on the grounds that it would repress the students' freedom. This rule, or lack of rule, had resulted in a few eye-blinding creations in the way of clothing. This student was a lot more conservative in his clothing. It was almost uniform black, with the exception of the grey sneakers he wore. 

His black hair, which hung a little past his shoulders, was currently hanging in front of his face, blocking it from view. There was really nothing about him that was out of the ordinary. He was maybe a little thinner than general, and a little paler, but otherwise, he was perfectly normal. 

His name, as listed in the school year-books, is Cole McLaughlin. At age eighteen, his life is as normal as he could hope for. But everything can change. 

******'

The bell rang, and students started filing out of the classrooms. A few of them passed the table where Cole was still lying, asleep, but none of them made a move to wake him up or remind him that he'd missed a class. Suddenly, as if someone flipped a switch, he woke up and gathered his books. 

A few students glanced at him, but otherwise he was left alone. He pulled out his headphones and put them on, shutting the sounds of the rest of the school out, listening to the music blaring out of them. 

_Mama they try and break me_

_The window burns to light the way back home_

_A light that warms no matter were they've gone_

_And they're off to find the hero of the day_

_But what if they should fall by someone's wicked way_

He reached a classroom door, with a tag proclaiming that it was, in fact, the Arts classroom. He pushed the door open and entered; ignoring the class already assembled in front f the teacher, and headed towards one of the corners. 

Sitting down on a chair in front of a large canvas, he put down his books again, and pulled out a brush. He dipped it in water, grabbed a watercolour palette and set to work. He turned up the volume, ignoring that people threw him angry looks as the music blared loud enough for them to hear it, despite the headphones, and started painting. 

_Still the window burns_

_Time so slowly turns_

_And someone there is sighing_

_Keepers of the flames_

_Do you feel your names?_

_Can't you hear your babies crying?_

An hour passed, during which the students frequently glared at him, glares which he ignored every time. When he finally put down his brush again, the lesson was over. He stood up, gathered up his things once again, and headed out of the room, with a nod to the teacher. 

He retreated to the table, put his books on it again, and pulled out a sketch-book and started drawing absently. 

*****'

Severus sat down in the overly comfortable chair in front of the Headmasters desk, and waited for Albus to say something. The Headmaster, however, seemed absorbed in his own little world, which probably consisted of lemon drops and mad schemes to make others miserable. Minutes ticked by, and none of them made a move to say or do anything. 

"Albus, this is getting ridiculous. Why did you call me up to your office?" Severus asked impatiently. 

"Oh, that's right, how kind of you to remind me, Severus." Albus replied happily, and pulled out some documents from under the towering stack on his desk. 

He handed them to Severus, and beamed as if it was a great accomplishment on his part. Severus raised an eyebrow, and looked down on the paper he'd been given. 

_Headmaster Dumbledore_

_It has come to our attention that unauthorized magic was performed in the town of __Wye__ at nine-twenty-five last Wednesday. It is out wish that you look into this as soon as possible. If not, steps will be taken to ensure it never happens again. _

_Sincerely_

_Mafalda__ Hopkirk, Department of Magical Law Enforcement. _

He glanced up at Albus, raising an eyebrow quizzically. This was nothing unusual; students' ´forgot´ about their letter stating that they were not allowed to do magic outside school all the time. He failed to see why this was any of his concern, unless it was a Slytherin doing the rule breaking. 

"I believe this is something for you or the Ministry to deal with, unless it's a Slytherin concerned. Is it?" He asked. 

"No, it's more complicated than that; it's isn't a Slytherin, or a Gryffindor. The problem is that it isn't a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff either."

"But pre-Hogwarts students perform magic all the time. It's what makes us invite them to Hogwarts. And the Ministry can't honestly expect that if we don't take care of it, they'll send someone to ´deal´ with it. What harm can an eleven-year-old do?" Severus asked, getting annoyed. 

"Not much, or a lot, depending on how powerful they are, but who is talking about eleven-year-olds?" Albus raised an eyebrow, eyes twinkling. 

"We are, Albus. Stop playing games and tell me why I'm here." Severus sighed. 

"I looked into this, and discovered that the boy performing the magic was eighteen years old. The funny thing is, it was his first magic. He has never even showed signs of being a wizard before."

"Eighteen? Talk about late-starter." Severus snorted. "But I still fail to see why this concerns me or you for that matter."

"Obviously the boy will have to be schooled, and while late-starters are often tutored privately, on account of them being too far behind the others their age, I have decided to let him start here. As all other teachers are busy, and sending an owl would not suffice, I'm asking you to inform him." 

"What? Me? Albus, that's not a good idea; he's lived with Muggles his whole life, he practically a Muggle himself, and you know how bad I am with them."

"Severus, it wasn't a question, it was a request." 

"Oh, alright you old coot, I'll go, but you'll have to drag me kicking and screaming if you ever ask me to do anything like this again!" He warned and stormed out of the room. 

******'

Severus stormed down the corridors, stopping only to take points off from some anonymous Hufflepuff who was knocking the suits of armour over. He couldn't believe that Albus sent him off to the Muggle world. Muttering curses under his breath, he entered his private chambers and started digging through the drawers for something less wizard-like to wear. 

Having gone through all his drawers in less than ten minutes, he came up with nothing but a black T-shirt with green letters on it, spelling out ´Snake's Rule´, and a pair of black jeans. Biting back a new stream of curses, he put them on and searched around a bit more, coming up with an, unsurprisingly enough, black jacket. 

He glared at his reflection in the mirror. The T-shirt had been given to him by the Slytherin Quidditch-team, in a far away past when he himself had played for them, back in his own school years. It had been lying, forgotten, at the bottom of a trunk, until a few years ago when he'd moved it to his closet. 

Still scowling, he headed out the door, towards the entrance. A few of his students tried to approach him, but after he'd verbally bitten their heads off, they stayed away, wisely. He ran into Minerva on the way, and shot her a death glare when she dared to snort at his clothing. 

As soon as he was outside the gates of Hogwarts grounds, he pulled out his wand and Disapparated. If he ended up Apparating on top of some Muggle's head, Albus would be sure not to send him anywhere else. Besides, he needed to vent his frustrations. 

*****'

Cole had put his sketch-book away and resumed his sleeping activities. He had been sleeping for about an hour when, since he was an extremely light sleeper and wasn't really sleeping in any case, he heard his name mentioned. He opened his eyes, and cautiously lifted his head. Not far enough to be noticed, but enough to see what was going on. 

Over by one of the entrances, a group of students were being interrogated by a tall man in black clothes. The man had an appearance that just screamed ´draw me´; black hair, going just down to his shoulders, falling into his eyes every now and then, forcing him to brush it back over his shoulder. Dark eyes, but from this distance he couldn't see what colour they were and he was pale as a ghost, but it was the nose that caught his attention. 

It was large and hooked, making it resemble a beak, and sometime it must have been broken. All in all, it made the owner look a bit like a hawk. He silently decided to draw the man as soon as he could. After he'd found out why they were talking about him of course. Turning his head slightly, he started eavesdropping. 

******'

Severus arrived at Aton soon after Apparating into a deserted alley. He decided not to go to whatever headmaster or principal they had in this place, and instead ask the students where he could find the boy, whose name was Cole McLaughlin. 

He stopped a group of likely looking victims, that is to say, students, who were standing around just inside the doors. They didn't look like they were very interested in anyone but themselves, but they should at least have a general idea of who knew what he needed to know. 

"Where can I find Cole McLaughlin?" He asked, not being one to beat around the bush. 

"What do you want with that moron?" A blond haired boy who reminded him slightly of Lockheart asked, sneering, as if challenging Severus. 

Oh no you don't. You're challenging the master at his own game boy, he thought. Putting on a sneer of his own, he answered the boy. 

"What I want with Mr McLaughlin is my own business. Are you going to tell me where he is, or will I be forced to go find a creature with enough brain capacity give me a coherent answer?" He spat. 

"That won't be too hard" Another boy answered, stopping right beside him. "Things that grow on mouldy bread have more brain capacity that him. If you want McLaughlin, he's in the corner over there. You might not want to wake him up though; that bitch bites." 

The boy set off again, without waiting for Severus to retort. He raised an eyebrow. Sleeping? And at school time, too. 

"That won't be a problem; I bite back." He said softly, and looked towards the corner that the boy had indicated. 

There, slumped across a table, was a black-haired boy, clearly asleep. Ignoring the chattering group beside him, he headed to the table. Even though the boy didn't move an inch, and his breathing remained the same, Severus detected the small, but noticeable to the right person, signs that he was not truly asleep. 

******'

He bit back a curse as the black haired man walked towards him. Forcing himself to remain still, he wished fervently that the man, whoever he was, would go away. He had enough on his mind without strangers invading his privacy and asking questions. 

The man stopped in front of the table, looked at him for a little while, before sitting down across from him, and leaning back. 

"We both know full well that you are awake, Mr McLaughlin, so it would be favourable to you and to me, if you would desist pretending to do so instantly "The man said. 

Good Gods, who spoke like that now a days? He sounded like he stepped right out of some old English play! And how had he known that he wasn't asleep? 

Still undecided whether or not this man was completely sane, Cole lifted his head off his arms and glared at him, blue eyes showing his irritation. 

"What do you want?" He growled. 

"You are in no way making my job easier, Mr McLaughlin. Believe me; I would prefer being back in my laboratory, hell, I'd rather be sitting through a tedious History lesson than be here, but yet I am here, and I will do what was asked of me." He said, matching Cole's glare with a glare of his own. 

"I'd laugh, if I had the energy to. Why don't you start making sense, Mister?" Cole snorted. 

"Professor." The man clipped in, looking vaguely offended. 

Cole looked him over. Professor? He looked like he was in his thirties, early forties at the most. That was much too young to be a professor of anything, at least in his opinion.  

"Professor?" He snorted, "Yeah right, and I'm Richard Nixon." 

"I assure you, Mr McLaughlin, that I am a professor, and that you are in no way America's president, dead or no." He looked annoyed now. 

"Whatever. What do you want?" 

"I have a letter for you, but I believe it might be best if I explained matters to you thoroughly first." 

"You could start off my telling me your name." Cole said, eying him suspiciously. 

"Severus Snape." He was informed. 

"Geez, you sound like you just stepped out of some horror movie. Now what do you want? I haven't got all day, you know." The bell rang suddenly, "In fact, I think I just ran out of time. Good day." He said and stood up. 

But he seemed not only to be out of time, but out of luck too. As he once again slapped his headphones over his ears, the man who had introduced himself as Severus Snape stood up to follow him. 

"Not so fast, Mr McLaughlin. If you do not have time now, you will make time. This is more important than anything else that can possibly be happening right now. Besides, you have just slept your way through time that was undoubtly meant to be spent attending a lesson." He said. "So don't tell me you can't make time now." 

"Why the hell not? I did just sleep my way through the Math lesson, but I have a free hour right now, and I am going to the Arts classroom. If you want to tag along, it's fine by me. Don't expect me to pay attention though." Cole said, now thoroughly confused. 

Snape just nodded, and followed him to the Arts classroom. This guy was starting to freak him out. 

*****'

Severus followed the boy to his ´Arts´ classroom. His foray into Muggle Studies had not been very exciting, and it was the one subject he had not paid attention in, so his knowledge of Muggle school subjects was less than minimal. Non-existent, almost. 

So when they entered a large room, with a high ceiling and white walls, covered in various paintings and drawings, he was rather surprised. He had no idea that Muggles put so much weight on Arts that they taught it as a school subject. He assumed that McLaughlin was going to have an Arts-lesson, but apparently he was wrong, since although there was a class assembled in front of the teacher, McLaughlin didn't head over to them, but instead walked to a corner. 

Well there, he sat unceremoniously dropped all he was carrying on the floor and pulled up a chair to an easel in front of him. Judging from the lack of reaction from the students in general and the teacher in particular, this was normal behaviour from the boy. Intrigued, he stepped closer and watched as the boy started painting. 

It appeared that he was doing a large picture of a dragon, a dragon which closely resembled a Swedish Short-Snout of he remembered his Care of Magical Creatures lessons correctly. It surprised him, since Albus had said the boy was wholly Muggle, and had never performed magic until last Wednesday, much less seen a dragon. 

He wasn't sure what the Muggle contraptions that the boy had stuck over his ears were, but it seemed he was more or less deaf at the moment. Since the boy was busy and therefore less likely to answer any questions, he distracted himself by looking at the various sketches and finished paintings and drawing scattered over the near-by tables. 

His eyes widened; the boy was good, damn good. Even in the most basic pencil sketches, he could detect a great talent. Some of the pictures made him wonder if it was a photograph or not. Never one to bother with such details as permission, he started rifling through a pile of drawings. 

He froze suddenly. A Familiar face was looking up at him from the paper, smiling widely, as if recognizing him. That red hair, those green eyes. How in the blazing hell had McLaughlin managed to draw her so perfectly, when he knew for a fact that the boy had never seen her?

He was so absorbed in to drawing that he didn't notice McLaughlin coming up next to him. At least, not until some sort of what he assumed was music blasted in his ear. He jumped and snapped his head around to glare at the boy. He had removed those Muggle contraptions from his ears and they now hung around his neck, clearly the source of the music. If you could call it that. 

"Nice one, huh?" The boy asked. "I drew it one day when I was bored; never knew it would be that good. The idea just popped into my head."

"You mean you drew this out of your imagination?" Severus asked. 

"Of course. Don't have many people around to draw from." He shrugged. 

"Fascinating. And it looks just like her." Severus mumbled, eyes returning to the drawing. 

*****'

Cole was, against his will, curious about the man who said his name was Severus Snape. He wasn't sure that was the truth; no mother could be that cruel to a child. On second thought, a mother could be that cruel, but that was hardly the matter. Snape was staring down on one of his better drawings, mumbling something that sounded like ´It looks just like her´. 

"Someone you know?" He ventured, wondering what had made the mysterious man so fascinated with his drawing; it was only a drawing, for crying out loud. 

Apparently, it was the wrong question to ask. Snape's face tightened, and he put down the drawing again. He turned to Cole and raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the headphones around his neck, which were currently blasting ´Low Mans Lyric´ at top volume. 

"What" He asked, "Is that supposed to be? Do not tell me it's music; that is degrading the word." 

"What? What've you got against Metallica? Here, listen." He offered, pulling off his headphones and sticking them over Snape's ears. 

He was a bit surprised as Snape recoiled and his fists clenched, but as soon as the headphones were over his ears, he seemed to relax again. He listened silently eyes focused somewhere in the floor. 

****'

He'd reacted automatically when the boy had stuck the contraptions over his ears, by recoiling and nearly punching him. But when he'd realized the boy wasn't trying to hurt him, he calmed his ex-Death Eater nerves and listened to what the boy had called Metallica. 

.

_So as I write to you now_

_Of what is done and to do_

_Maybe you'll understand_

_And won't cry for this man_

_´Cause low man is due._

_._

It wasn't as bad as he'd thought it'd be. Obviously the ear-things were best when put close to the ear. And the music wasn't that bad, either. 

.

_Please forgive me_

_._

_So low the sky is all I see_

_All I want from you is forgive me_

_So you bring this poor dog in from the rain_

_Though he just wants right back out again_

_._

_And I cry, to the alleyway_

_Confess all to the rain_

_But I lie, lie straight to the mirror_

_The one I've broken to match my face._

.

It was rather good actually. Tugging the contraptions off his ears, he handed them back to the boy, who took them and stuck them over his ears again, but left one ear free, as if to listen to whatever he had to say. 

"I stand corrected; it is music. But I did not come here to discuss the finer points in musical arts with you."

"Then why are you here?" 

"I was sent by the Headmaster of the school I teach at to offer you to start there." He said, sighing. 

"Why would I want to?"

"This is not a suitable place for this discussion. May I suggest we go elsewhere?" 

Without waiting for an answer he walked towards the door, leaving Cole to either follow him or stay behind. He chose the former. 

*****'

A few minutes later found them seated outside the school grounds, on a park bench, which Cole had deemed private enough. He had no idea why Snape was being so damn secretive, and he wanted to know. 

"So, tell me why the hell you're being so damn secretive." He ordered. 

"Because the school I teach at has a strict policy of secretiveness regarding school matters towards all those not attending or teaching there."

"And now you're asking me to come there? How far away is it?"

"It's a boarding-school, Mr McLaughlin, how far away it is has no significance." Snape answered.  

"Boarding school? No offence, Snape, but I don't think I'll be going." Cole laughed. 

"I wasn't aware that you were given a choice in the matter." Snape stated. 

Cole laughed again, but catching the look on Snape's face, he quickly stopped. The man was dead serious. 

"Bloody hell, you're fucking serious!" He exclaimed, getting to his feet. 

"Kindly refrain from using such terms in my presence, but yes, McLaughlin, I am serious." Snape said, not budging an inch. 

"You are, are you? Well, give me one good reason to why the hell I should go with you." Cole demanded, not really bothering to stop and think. 

"As I said, McLaughlin, you aren't given a choice in the matter. Yesterday, the school received a letter concerning you and your attendance to the school, which I am not at all sorry to say, it compulsory. We have the means to make you go, whether you agree or not." Snape coldly informed him. 

"Oh, shit. That's it, I'm going. There's no way that I'm going with you, threaten me as much as you fucking want, but I won't go." Cole said, starting to get a little afraid. 

Snape sounded like some kind of criminal. ´We have the means to make you go, whether you agree or not´. Christ, this was like taken out of a movie. As Snape stuck his hand inside his jacket, Cole decided it was time to go, or at least find something heavy to hit him with. 

But instead of pulling out a gun, like he'd though he would, he pulled out a piece of what looked like parchment. Cole listened, frozen in place, as Snape began to read out loud. 

"´Headmaster Dumbledore´, well let's skip that bit. ´It has come to our attention that unauthorized magic was performed in the town of Wye at nine-twenty-five last Wednesday. It is our wish that you look into this as soon as possible. If not, steps will be taken to ensure it never happens again´" He read. 

"And what the hell does that mean?" Cole asked shakily, suppressing the urge to scratch at his ears.

The man had read a letter, clearly addressed to the Headmaster of the blasted school, but it had mentioned magic, and Snape had acted if it was an everyday occurrence and quite annoying. He'd acted as if it was true. 

"It means, McLaughlin, that you are a wizard." Snape informed him calmly, folding the letter and putting it back in his pocket.

****************'

Ending Notes; Hopefully, it wasn't too awful. I will probably continue this, but I want to finish Unbroken Curses first. I have an idea for another story too, but that one is going to take a while.  


	2. Grimmauld Place

Cole has a little problem with keeping his language less than PG-13 rated, but it's a very minor plot point, so please let it pass, alright?  
  
I put Sirius as Tonks cousin in this, because my mother is occupying the fifth book, and I don't remember if it is that way or not. Hopefully, you won't kill me for it; it won't be a major plot point anyway.   
  
******'  
  
Cole stared at Snape, wondering if the man was quite sane. Wizard? Yeah right, it was time to all for a straightjacket. He backed away, while laughing.   
  
"Wizard? Oh, please, can't you come with something better? Magic doesn't exist. Sure, if it did, I'd jump at a chance to go to a magical boarding-school, but magic doesn't exist." He said, chuckling weakly.   
  
"Prove it." Snape said calmly.   
  
"Oh, cut the crap! Don't tell me that dragons and unicorns really exist." Cole snorted disbelievingly.   
  
"How would you know what a dragon looked like, if Muggles hadn't spotted them? A five ton flying lizard is damn hard to hide." Snape asked, logically.   
  
"Alright, you just sit there, while I call some nice men who will come with a brand new jacket for you, one that you can tie the arms around your back with." Cole said, backing away even further, pulling out his cell phone.   
  
He jumped when Snape pulled out what looked like a stick, pointed it at him and said something in a foreign language.   
  
"Accio."   
  
The cell phone flew out of his hand and into Snape's, as if he had thrown it. Snape pointed the stick at him, as if it was a gun, holding his cell phone in one hand.   
  
"McLaughlin, shut up and listen to me. Magic does exist, as I just proved. Dragons and unicorns exist as well, and that is an undeniable fact. Another undeniable fact is that you are going to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You have no choice." Snape said, after he made sure he had Cole's attention.   
  
"Meeh." Was all Cole could get out, as his vocal chords had stopped working a little while ago.   
  
"Very articulate. Now, I am going to put my wand away, and you are going to tell me if you have any close family we need to tell about this." Snape informed him, stuffing his wand in his pocket again.   
  
"Wand." Cole echoed.   
  
"Yes, McLaughlin, a wand. Now, if your brain isn't severely damaged, feel free to start talking in coherent sentences. Do you have any close family to tell about this?" Snape said patiently.   
  
"Well, my mother," Cole admitted, forcing himself to calm down again, "But that won't matter; she hasn't been sober in five years, and she hardly knows my name anymore. If I went off to boarding school, she'd probably throw a party, if she could remember who I was or where she was."   
  
Snape raised an eyebrow, and for a second Cole thought he'd comment on his mother being an alcoholic, but he kept quiet about that.   
  
"Very well. Is there anything you would like to bring with you before we go?" Snape asked.   
  
"Well, nothing that I haven't got on me right now." Cole shrugged.   
  
He had most of his things packed in a bag over his shoulder, in case he ever needed to spend the night elsewhere. He had a few changes of clothing, his drawing materials and a few good books, his favourite CD's, and that was it.   
  
"What are we waiting for then? Come along, we have to get to London before noon." Snape gestured at him to come closer.   
  
"Before noon? Snape, it's half past eleven, and it's going to take us at least an hour to get even near to London:" Cole protested. "How are we going to get there before noon?"   
  
"Magic." Snape said, waving his hands, looking every inch sarcasm personified.   
  
"I'm going to hear that a lot over the next few days aren't I?" Cole mumbled, but obediently walked closer.   
  
Snape grabbed his arm and pulled out his wand again.   
  
"You have no idea." He muttered as the world began to swirl around them.   
  
******'  
  
Cole steadied himself by grabbing Snape's arm as they suddenly popped into existence in an alleyway, filled with thrash-bins, with a deafening crack. Snape waited patiently for him to let go, and when he did, wasted no time n sweeping down the alleyway.   
  
"Hey, Snape, wait up!" He shouted and ran after him.   
  
Snape stopped and turned around, tapping his foot on the pavement. He looked impatient and uncomfortable, and had his arms crossed over his chest.   
  
"How far until we're at the school?" Cole asked, slowing to a stop beside him.   
  
"I regret to inform you, McLaughlin that the school is located in Scotland, and we will not be going there until tomorrow at the very least, if not longer." Snape told him with a smirk.   
  
"Scotland?" He exclaimed so loudly that people stopped and stared at him. He continued in a lower voice. "Scotland? Are you kidding me? How does anyone get there? That little disappearing-trick you just pulled looked pretty advanced to me, so don't tell me they do that."   
  
"They take the train, of course. Now stop asking me questions. We have to go."   
  
Cole's head was reeling with all the new information he'd received over the last half-hour and could only follow Snape silently. Therefore, he didn't notice what happened before a piece of parchment was shoved under his nose, on which was written ´Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.´   
  
He blinked at the cryptic message, and looked up at Snape, who was waiting for him to at the door of an old house. He raised an eyebrow, but followed the professor inside. As soon as the door shut, however, an unholy screech rose from upstairs, of which he could only make out a few words.   
  
"Filthy mudbloods…Unworthy of our name…Traitors…!"   
  
He clapped his hands over his ears; the volume it was screeched at was enough to make his eardrums implode. Snape seemed to be swearing, but he couldn't hear anything over the screeching, so he had to guess.   
  
Suddenly, the screeching stopped, and he cautiously dropped his hands again. Snape seemed to be relieved too, and sighed something that sounded like ´finally´, and looked towards the stairs.   
  
"Snape! Can't you tell us next time you're coming? I was trying to sleep!" Came a female voice, sounding annoyed.   
  
"Tonks, it's nearly twelve o' clock. If you are still sleeping, I don't want to know what you were doing last night." Snape snapped back.   
  
Cole looked towards the stairs too, and set eyes on a woman with violet hair streaked with green. That was odd, to say the least, but after all the things that had happened this far, he felt like he'd never be surprised again.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. But did you have to wake up Mrs Black?" She asked him.   
  
"I can't believe that bitch hasn't come down yet." Snape muttered darkly.   
  
"That's no way to talk to my cousin's mother." Tonks admonished.   
  
"Whatever. Tonks, this is Cole McLaughlin, McLaughlin, this is Tonks. Never ever call her anything else than Tonks." He introduced them quickly.   
  
"Whooo, you made a friend, Snape? How cute." Tonks grinned.   
  
"Friend? That?" Cole exclaimed, pointing at Snape. "He should be forced to wear a badge saying he's criminally insane!"   
  
"Shut it, McLaughlin. No, Tonks, McLaughlin is going to be a student of mine." Snape explained to Tonks.   
  
"Poor boy. Well, if you excuse me, Snape, I have something to do." She said, starting up the stairs again.   
  
"Make that ´someone´." Snape muttered, and headed towards another door.   
  
Not knowing what else to do, Cole followed him. This day was just getting freakier.   
  
******'  
  
Snape sat down at the kitchen table next to Cole, and leaned back in his chair. He eyed Cole who was putting his bag down on the floor, and looking around the kitchen with barely masked curiosity.   
  
"I believe it would be best if you looked at me while I explain the rest of your life to you." Snape said, smirking.   
  
"The rest of my life? But won't this be just temporary? I mean to learn how to use my magic and control it, so I don't hurt anyone?" Cole asked puzzled.   
  
Snape looked at him with an eyebrow raised, and Cole knew he'd either done something right, or something incredibly stupid.   
  
*******'  
  
The boy was quick. He had already figured out that he had gone out of control, and needed to train himself so that it didn't happen again. ´….so I don't hurt anyone´, he had said. What made Severus wonder was why the boy had o quickly jumped to the conclusion that he could hurt others with his power, and why he asked how he could control it.   
  
"It is indeed so that you can control your powers, but I fear that it will require more time than the word ´temporary´ covers. You will be forced to learn everything an average Seventh Year at Hogwarts knows. The one setback you have is that you will not have the advantage of learning since the age of eleven, as most Muggle-born."  
  
"There's that word again. Muggle. What's it mean?"   
  
"Non-magical person. Normal people, if you will. But I am digressing. You start learning about the magical world at age eighteen, which means you will either have shorter time learning, or will have to start first year with the rest of the eleven year olds. However, the Headmaster in all his wisdom has decided that taking lessons with eleven year olds will restrict your learning speed." Severus rolled his eyes.   
  
"Don't like the Headmaster?" McLaughlin enquired, smirking.   
  
"On the contrary. The Headmaster knows what he does; it is other people who are stupid. I have nothing against the Headmaster, he is in fact one of the few friends I have. What is sometimes distracting is his habit of never telling anyone about his schemes until they are through."  
  
"Secretive bastard, eh?" McLaughlin asked.   
  
Severus would have lashed out on him for calling Albus Dumbledore bastard, but refrained from doing so because he had a feeling that to Cole McLaughlin, ´bastard´ wasn't an insult. He had a feeling that a lot of things that most people took as insulting was perfectly normal to say in McLaughlin's world.   
  
"Of course. But easily distracted; give him a plate of lemon drops and he believes everything is right with the world. He's addicted to sweets, Muggle and wizard. But I am once again digressing. A bad habit I'm afraid. As I was saying, you will take lessons with those your own age. Normally, you would have to choose only a few subjects for your seventh year, but you are, once again, a special case.   
  
"You will take all subjects, with the exceptions of the additional ones which the students choose in their third year. Normally, the other students have three or at the most four subjects in their seventh year, but this years' graduating class will be forced to go back to the basic subjects." Severus continued.   
  
"Why? Something happened?" McLaughlin raised an eyebrow.   
  
"Yes. It is a long story, which I can tell you the basics of later. You will therefore, "He continued, going back to what he ha been speaking of before he was interrupted. "Take your lessons with the seventh year students, depending on which House you are Sorted into, you will have different classmates." He said, with the confidence of someone who could pronounce a capital letter.   
  
"Right. How am I ´Sorted´?"   
  
"The Sorting Hat, obviously. You put it on your head, and it tells you which House you are in. Simple as that." Severus shrugged.   
  
"Tells me? Well, after a day like this, a talking hat shouldn't that much of a surprise. I mean, you damn near kidnapped me, got to London in less than a fucking minute, and have friends named Tonks. I shouldn't be surprised, really." McLaughlin shrugged.   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow. He wasn't used to people, especially students, swearing in his presence. They usually were too afraid to say anything worse that darn, thinking that he'd lash out on them and put them in detention. McLaughlin could speak without cursing if he tried, Severus was sure of that, but it seemed that he had been brought up by someone who swore just as bad as he did, and never bothered to correct him.   
  
"Tonks isn't my friend." He said, and was about to start explaining about the subjects at Hogwarts when he was cut off by aforementioned woman.   
  
"No, you're my what? Cousins uncle twice removed?" Tonks said grinning.   
  
She walked up to the kitchen counter and made herself a cup of tea, her now red, waist-length hair with black streaks swinging behind her. McLaughlin watched with an eyebrow raised.   
  
"Excuse me, wasn't your hair green just a few minutes ago?" He queried.   
  
"Tonks is a Metamorphmagus, McLaughlin; she can change her appearance at will."  
  
"And you're related?"   
  
"Probably." Severus shrugged, "All Pureblood families are inter-related. But seeing as her cousin was," He stopped and cleared his throat, "Sirius Black, I fear that it is impossible for me to be her uncle, seeing as I went to school with Black."   
  
Silence descended on the kitchen, and McLaughlin looked at the two of them, confused expression on his face. Suddenly, Severus shook himself out of his reverie and refocused on here and now.   
  
"But no matter, it is all in the past now. Back to your subjects. The compulsory subjects, the ones you have to take are Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Potions. The Additional ones are Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies. The latter is hardly necessary for you, since you are Muggle-born."   
  
"You wizarding guys are fucking strange." McLaughlin said with awe in his voice.   
  
"You know Snape; I think he has a point!" Tonks snorted, laughing so hard she almost fell off the counter.   
  
"Shut up, Nymphadora." Severus said with emphasis on the last word.   
  
"ARGH!" Tonks exclaimed and threw the teacup at his head.   
  
Severus ducked, got up from the chair and got hold of McLaughlin's arm.   
  
"We're leaving." He informed his soon-to-be student, and dragged him towards the door.   
  
******'  
  
Cole found himself dragged out of the house, down the street and a little further around the corner and into a dimly lit tavern. Well there he was finally allowed to straighten up. The tables around him were filled with various differently formed people who for the most part ignored him.   
  
Deciding that he better follow Snape unless he wanted to get really lost, he headed after the black haired man. Snape had walked up to the bar, not waiting for Cole to get his bearings and stand up straight, and was talking to the barkeep.   
  
"Hey there, Snape, I haven't seen you in a while." The barkeep greeted him.   
  
"I have a lot of lessons to plan before the 1st of September, Tom. We're just passing through." Snape waved him off.   
  
"Alright then, go on through. I have to warn you though; something happened in Knockturn Alley earlier, they got a little worked up about it." Tom warned.   
  
"I'll keep hat in mind."  
  
Once again he swept away, not waiting for Cole. If he had to take lessons with Snape while at Hogwarts, he had to find out some way to skip them; the man was the most ignorant and uncaring person he'd ever met. Alright, maybe not, but it was close.   
  
******'  
  
As soon as they stepped through the portal to Diagon Alley, Snape stopped again. Cole caught up withy him and glared at him. Snape shrugged off like it happened every day, which it probably did, if his behaviour was anything to judge by.   
  
"Now, there are a few things that are required to attend Hogwarts. The most important is of course a wand. So our first stop will be Ollivander's." Snape informed him.   
  
"Ollviander's. Right." Cole replied, deciding not to ask questions until he was sure he wanted to hear the answers.   
  
They arrived in the small and dusty shop only minutes later. Snape sat down in a chair, apparently prepared to wait for a while, and since he had taken the only chair, Cole remained standing. After a while and no one had come, he pulled out his sketch-book and started drawing.   
  
"Ah, an artist. Good to keep in mind when choosing wands." Came a voice from right in front of them.   
  
Cole jumped and nearly dropped his sketch-book. In front of him was a very old man, bent with age and silver haired. Snape's lack of reaction proved that materializing out of thin air was something this old man all the time.   
  
"But certainly, Mr Ollivander, it is the wand that chooses the wizard?" Snape queried.   
  
"Severus Snape. I have not seen you in a long time. Twelve inch oak, unicorn hair and phoenix feather, was it not?" Ollivander said, smiling.   
  
"Yes." Snape nodded.   
  
"And you've taken care of it properly?" The old man asked sternly.   
  
Snape nodded wordlessly, looking like a schoolboy who had just been caught red handed trying to play a prank on one of his professors.   
  
"Good. Now, I shall see if we can find you a wand." Ollivander nodded to himself, satisfied.   
  
Half an hour later, Cole was still standing there, trying wands. Ollivander didn't seem to mind having to go through his whole store to find the right wand, on the contrary. He grew happier with each passing minute, in fact.   
  
"Maybe we shall try this one. Fourteen inches, oak, dragon heartstring and phoenix feather; a temperamental wand, fitting for an artist. Here, try it." He handed Cole a slim wand.  
  
Cole took it and waved it, and a shower of sparks flew from the tip, looking rather like miniature fireworks. Ollivander clapped his hands together, delighted and Snape gave a relieved sigh.   
  
"Well, then we shall pay for this and move on." Snape said, pulling out a money pouch.   
  
"Whoa, I haven't got any money." Cole protested.   
  
"It doesn't matter McLaughlin, the Headmaster has given me enough to provide for your school things." Snape explained.   
  
"Oh, alright then." Cole grinned.   
  
******'  
  
The rest of the purchases went smoothly, and soon it was only the school robes left to buy. There, problems started popping up. McLaughlin protested most vehemently to being forced to wear robes. In the end, Severus nearly lost his patience.   
  
"Oh, for the love of God! McLaughlin, everyone is going to robes. I wear robes." Severus exclaimed, pointing to himself.   
  
He was indeed wearing robes. He had changed as soon as they entered Diagon Alley, with just a flick of his wand and a muttered incantation. McLaughlin gave him an once-over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.   
  
"If I wear robes, I'll look like you. And you, Snape, look like an overgrown bat." He explained, talking slowly, as if to a child.   
  
"McLaughlin." He said, threatening tone.   
  
McLaughlin laughed at him, but agreed to wear the school uniform. He got a few curious glances in Diagon Alley, seeing as he was one of the few people wearing Muggle clothing. And it wasn't just any clothing; across the chest of his black sweater was grey letters, spelling out ´S.P.I.T´. When asked what it meant, McLaughlin just shrugged and said that it was ´a Swedish Muggle metal-band.´ and that he didn't know what the initials meant.   
  
Severus could only assume that ´metal-band´ had something to do with music. Why they had named themselves spit was not something he liked to speculate about, so he didn't ask any more questions.   
  
*******'  
  
They went back to Grimmauld Place and settled in for the night. After a crash course through his new subjects, Cole spent the rest of the night in his bed, reading through his new textbooks. As many a Muggle-born wizard before him, he found them more fascinating than anything else he'd ever read.   
  
When the clock at his beside showed that it was half past three in the morning, he finally put down the book. His last thought before falling asleep was that this was probably the most confusing day in his whole life.   
  
******'  
  
Snape left the next morning, but Cole was informed he was to remain at Grimmauld Place until further notice. He had only Tonks for company the first day, but didn't care much, as he spent it reading his textbooks, and then moved on to his all time favourite, Lord of the Rings.   
  
He was so engrossed in the book that he didn't notice that they had company until a hand clamped down on his shoulder, making him jump and spin around, his hands irrationally searching for his wand, which was of no use since he didn't know any spells.   
  
"You have quick reflexes, laddie. That's good." The person behind him growled.   
  
"Oh, Mad-Eye, don't scare him! I've told you; he's going to be a student at Hogwarts." Tonks voice came from the doorway, sounding desperate.   
  
"That doesn't mean I can trust him."   
  
The visitor, apparently named Mad-Eye, was one of the most hideous med Cole had ever seen, and his appearance, just as Snape's, screamed to be drawn. Cole took a step back, putting his wand back in his pocket, and making himself ready to fight or run, should it be needed; this man looked dangerous.   
  
"Never put your wand away till you know everything's safe." Mad-Eye barked.   
  
"I don't know any spells anyway, so it's of no fucking use, is it?" Cole snapped back, growing angry.   
  
"No spells? How old are you boy?" Mad-Eye asked, puzzled.   
  
"Eighteen." Cole replied dully; he hated it when people asked him if he was stupid, or even dared to believe he was.   
  
"And no spells? Are you a late-starter or just stupid?" Mad-Eye asked, looking down his gnarled nose at Cole.   
  
"If I was stupid, do you think I'd be able to get through this without having to run to the dictionary to look up the more difficult words every now and then?" Cole inquired, holding up his copy of Lord of the Rings.   
  
"Alright, so you're a late-starter. Going to Hogwarts, are you? Watch out for Snape." Mad-Eye warned.   
  
"Why should I? He's the one who'll be forced to watch out for me." Cole said, shrugging.   
  
"Snape's more dangerous than he looks, laddie. Much more dangerous."   
  
"Oh, come off it, Mad-Eye. The war's over, and Snape's on our side. Leave the boy alone, and have some tea instead." Tonks broke in.   
  
Cole was once again left alone, and went back to his book. He'd ask his questions later, for now, he had to follow the siege of Gondor. Ugly, over-suspicious wizards and not-so-subtle warnings could be damned.   
  
******'  
  
Ending Notes; and that's it. For anyone who's interested, S.P.I.T actually exists. It's my friend's older brother's band. I don't know what it stands for, but when I find out, I'll get back to you. 


	3. What's A Hogwarts?

And here's Hogwarts. Plot twists galore, I promise. Once again, Cole has a problem with language, that I hope is not too offending.  
  
******'  
  
The 1st of September. The day Hogwarts' term began. The day Hogwarts Express left platform 9 ¾. The day when Cole McLaughlin would step through the doors of the Great Hall for the first time. If he could get out of bed, that was.  
  
Currently, he didn't even dare breathe loudly, in fear the Mrs Black would wake up and start screeching again. Cautiously, he got out of bed, gathered up his things, and crept out of his room, as silently as he could.  
  
Snape had promised to meet him here at Grimmauld Place, to pick him up. Apparently, most Hogwarts students got to the school by train, but they would Apparate to some place called Hogsmeade, and then walk to the school from there. You couldn't Apparate directly to the school since there was some ban put on it, or so he was told.  
  
He managed to get down to the door without Mrs Black waking up and taking notice, and waited in the kitchen for Snape to come and get him. Tonks, who had a habit of sleeping late whenever she could, wasn't up yet, and there were no other people in the house, so he had to eat breakfast by himself.  
  
Never being one to bother with cooking something when there was anything he could eat uncooked and fast, he made himself a bowl of cereal. He ate it sitting on the countertop, every now and then setting the bowl down to check something in his textbooks.  
  
It was close to lunch time when Snape came into the kitchen, dressed in what could only be a tent, dyed black. On closer inspection, it turned out to be robes.  
  
"Seriously, Snape, if I look anything like you in my robes, I'm going to be a fashion-suicide. You look like a bloody bat." Cole remarked.  
  
"Speaking of fashion suicides, you might want to change into you school robes; a sweater with the word ´SPIT´ in the front isn't exactly everyone's idea of good-looking." Snape sneered.  
  
"I'm telling you, it's S.P.I.T, not spit!" Cole grumbled, but did change into his robes.  
  
When he was done, he turned back to Snape.  
  
"See, I'm done. Can we leave now? This place gives me the creeps." He said.  
  
"Yes, come along then." Snape said.  
  
They walked quickly to Diagon Alley, where the patrons of the Leaky Cauldron looked at them suspiciously. One glare from Snape immediately made them look away again. Snape informed him that the other students would arrive at Hogwarts near dinner time, and that they had some time to spend before Apparating.  
  
That time was spent in the Leaky Cauldron, reading in Cole's case, and going through lesson plans in Snape's case. The day went by faster than they had anticipated, and when it was nearing dinner time, Snape Apparated them to Hogsmeade.  
  
******'  
  
Cole steadied himself, looking around, disorientated. Snape grabbed his arm and started dragging him away from the village. Muttering under his breath, Cole followed him as fast as he could, trying to keep in his feet.  
  
Suddenly, a large castle loomed into view. It was located on top of a cliff, bordering on a dark forest. In front of it was a lake, glittering in the moonlight, for darkness had fallen a short while ago. Apparently, this was their destination.  
  
Cole was impressed; it's not every day you get to go to school in a castle fit for kings, and this castle seemed ancient. He asked Snape about it, and for a moment the lack haired mans face lit up, but then he put on that sneer again.  
  
"Why don't you read Hogwarts; A History?" He asked.  
  
"Sheesh, calm down, will you? I get to go to school in a freaking castle; I'm bound to have some bloody questions." Cole muttered.  
  
"Save them for later; we're running late for the Sorting Ceremony." Snape snapped.  
  
"Don't be so damn angry, Snape, I'm only asking questions." Cole said, giving up on him.  
  
******'  
  
The whole student body, as well as the teachers, were assembled in the Great Hall. The Sorting Ceremony was about to begin, or should have begun several minutes ago, but Professor Snape wasn't there yet, so they were forced to wait. Meanwhile, the first years were getting more and more nervous, glancing at each other and everything around them, nearly chewing on their fingernails.  
  
Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open, and in marched Snape, dragging a boy behind him. The surly Potions Master dragged the boy to where the first years were standing and then took his place at the High Table.  
  
Whispers broke out in the Hall as the students stared at the newcomer. He looked to be about seventeen years old, and had black hair that reached a little past his shoulders, blue eyes and a pale complexion. The only thing that set him apart from the seventh years at Hogwarts was his decision to leave off shaving, for a wispy beard had grown on his chin and jaws.  
  
McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, and silence fell. Fixing the students with her best stern glare, she started to read out the names of the first years.  
  
"Bones, Terrence." She read, and a small boy with blond hair stepped up to the Sorting Hat.  
  
He put it on, and after only a seconds hesitation, the hat sorted him into Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff table cheered loudly as he sat down among them, and the other Houses clapped politely, with the exception of Slytherin, who booed.  
  
The Sorting went on, and each House got new members. Finally they reached whom they all had been waiting for.  
  
"McLaughlin, Cole."  
  
Silence once again fell over the Hall, as they watched the black haired boy walk up to the Sorting Hat.  
  
******'  
  
Cole waited and waited, growing bored because his name was never called. When it was, he had almost fallen asleep standing, but blinked a few times and walked up to the patched hat they all referred to as ´Sorting Hat´. Somehow, they managed to pronounce the capital letters.  
  
He put the hat on his head, and waited. And waited. The hat was silent for a long while, before he heard a thin voice in his ear.  
  
"Hmm. Well, it doesn't hurt to try, and it's the best House for you." It said.  
  
He blinked, and nearly jumped out of his seat when the hat screamed loudly.  
  
"Slytherin!"  
  
He pulled the hat off again, and stood up. The table furthest from the door was cheering loudly, nearly screaming. Two of the other tables were clapping in a sort of half-hearted way, but the third was absolutely silent, and all its occupants were glaring at him as if he had just mortally offended them. He shrugged and walked towards the cheering table.  
  
He didn't know where to sit, but a boy with almost ridiculously white-blond hair waved him over, gesturing for him to sit down next to him. He extended a hand for Cole to shake, which he did.  
  
"I'm Draco Malfoy. Welcome to Slytherin." The boy said, grinning.  
  
"No need to tell you my name." Cole said as they shook hands.  
  
"No, the whole Hall heard you. Look out for the Gryffindors, by the way, they hate our guts." Draco warned.  
  
"Why?" Cole asked, glancing over at the table Draco had indicated.  
  
"We're Slytherins. Do they need another reason?" Draco shrugged.  
  
Cole was just about to ask him about it when a girl with blond hair and blue eyes that seemed shallow started clinging to Draco's arm. Draco let out a long suffering sigh, and rolled his eyes heavenward.  
  
"Draky! I've missed you so much!" The blond girl simpered.  
  
Cole flinched at the sound of her voice; it was like a train-whistle at its worst.  
  
"Whatever. Cole, this is Pansy." Draco said, grimacing.  
  
Cole bit back a laugh at her name, and watched as Draco shook her off. Even after only a minute in Pansy's company, he knew that he would never be a friend of hers; she was just too whiny and bratty.  
  
"We all ignore Pansy as much as possible. The only reason we tolerate her is that her parents are stinking rich and powerful." A calm voice said, from his right side.  
  
He turned and met the gaze of a black-haired girl with calm grey eyes.  
  
"And you are?" He asked.  
  
"How rude of me; I'm Blaise Zabini. Pleased to meet you." The girl extended her hand for him to shake, and he did so. "Hope you make yourself at home with the Slytherins."  
  
"Doesn't seem like I have a choice." Cole snorted.  
  
"Sadly, no. We're going to be just like your family here, including all the sibling-fights." Blaise smiled.  
  
"I'm an only child, but if anyone messes with me, I'll make him shut the fuck up." Cole promised. "Besides, getting beaten the shit out of makes you humble."  
  
Blaise raised an eyebrow, and exchanged a glance with Draco. All Slytherins were Purebloods, and they were brought up properly, and spoke very classy English. None of them would even think about using the words ´fuck´ and ´shit´ in a normal conversation. That would be breaking the rules of conduct. There was something very odd about Cole McLaughlin.  
  
Cole noticed of course, but didn't say anything. He knew he had to talk to Snape about his fellow Slytherins. He felt out of place with them, and wondered at why they were so abhorred by the Gryffindors. He sank lower in his seat, and watched the Sorting.  
  
******'  
  
The Slytherins were walking down the corridors, towards their Common Room in the dungeons. Cole noticed that a few of the Gryffindor students were eying him suspiciously. They looked at Draco with nothing but hatred and neither of the other Slytherins were looked at much differently.  
  
He shrugged it off as petty rivalry, and followed his House-mates to the Common Room. They reached what looked like a blank wall, and Draco stopped. He turned to Cole, and inclined his head.  
  
"Since you're the newest member of the Slytherin House, I thought I'd let you choose a password." He said.  
  
Cole grinned and nodded. He said the first thing that came to mind.  
  
"Mithrandir." He said.  
  
"Mithrandir it is then." Draco nodded, and the wall swung open.  
  
It revealed a long room, with a fireplace in the opposite wall. The floor was covered in rugs, green, black and grey, and the walls were hung with what Cole supposed was the Slytherin shield.  
  
Draco clapped a hand on his shoulder, making him jump.  
  
"Welcome to the Slytherin Common Room, Cole, where no Mudblood has ever set foot." The blond said.  
  
"Until now, that is." An amused voice came from the entrance.  
  
Draco spun around and looked at his Head of House, with one eyebrow raised.  
  
"What are you talking about, sir?" He asked.  
  
"McLaughlin here is Muggle-born, so you might want to stop using the term ´Mudblood´." Snape advised.  
  
Draco stared at him, making him feel rather uncomfortable. Deciding to humour him a bit, Cole gave a small wave and grinned.  
  
"Stop that, McLaughlin; you look like a demented Hufflepuff." Snape told him.  
  
"And you look like an overgrown bat with a tent-wearing complex. Anything else, Snape?" Cole shot back.  
  
"You address me as sir or professor, McLaughlin; I am your teacher." Snape glared at him.  
  
"Does it look like I give a fuck?" Cole shrugged.  
  
Draco gaped at him; not even he, Snape's favourite student, dared to talk back to him like that, and here was Cole McLaughlin, a lowly Muggle-born, telling Snape he looked like an overgrown bat, and to his face!  
  
"Honestly, sir, you could at least warn us before you throw Muggle-born wizards at us; we didn't even have time to clean up." Blaise commented from the doorway of the girls dorms.  
  
"Ms Zabini, I fail to see any need to clean up; the Slytherin Common Room is always clean. Hogwarts do have House Elves."  
  
"Not if Granger gets her way."  
  
"Ah, yes. There's someone you should get to know, McLaughlin; you'd understand each other. Spit and spew." Snape sneered. "Now, Ms Zabini, Mr Malfoy you will treat McLaughlin like any other Slytherin. If I hear you harass him because he is Muggle-born, you'll have to answer to me."  
  
With that, he swept out of the room, leaving the three of them alone. Draco was staring at Cole, looking like someone had dropped the whole world on his head. Blaise chuckled at him, and walked up to slap him over the head.  
  
"This is the real world calling, Mr Draco Malfoy. Anyone home?" She asked, laughing.  
  
"Ye-es, but how? A Mud-, I mean Muggle-born in Slytherin? That doesn't happen!" Draco exclaimed, waving his arms for emphasis.  
  
"Sorry to disrupt your view of the world, Draco, but it seems I'm here to stay." Cole chuckled at his expression.  
  
"Alright then." Draco said, but he still seemed a bit dazed. "I'll show you to the seventh year dorms."  
  
*****'  
  
The rooms were decorated much like the Common Room was, with four-poster beds and green rugs. There were four beds in the room, and two of them were already occupied by what looked like gorillas.  
  
Cole looked at them, puzzled, and he heard Draco snort. He turned his head, and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Exhibit A is Gregory Goyle, exhibit B is Vincent Crabbe. Or maybe it's the other way around; not even the teachers can tell them apart. I doubt even their mothers can do that." Draco said, smirking.  
  
"Rrrright. Lessons tomorrow?" Cole changed subjects.  
  
"Yeah; Double Potions with the Gryffindors, first thing in the morning. Hope we live through it. Longbottom has a habit of blowing up cauldrons. Wanna bet on how far he makes it this time? I'm betting fifteen minutes." Draco said, grinning now.  
  
"Alright, I'll bet half an hour. Whoever's the closest wins, deal?" Cole said, not having a clue who Longbottom was.  
  
"Deal. Winner gets a Galleon."  
  
"Sure."  
  
All he had to do now was find out what the hell a Galleon was. He undressed and took the bed closest to the door. A few minutes ticked by, and Cole put his head under the pillow, trying to block out the snores of Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
If someone had told him two weeks ago, that he would be lying in a four- poster bed in a magical castle, being a wizard himself, and having been sorted into a House named Slytherin, he would have laughed at them, if he had the energy to. His attempts to get some sleep were interrupted by an exceptionally loud snore from Crabbe or Goyle, he didn't know which one. Sighing to himself, he clutched the pillow tighter around his head, and tired to sleep.  
  
******' 


	4. Normal School Day

After many, many, many, many days, here is an update! I got stuck on other stories. And, having spent all too much time on FAP, I've decided to include a few more OC's in this. I bow down in the dust before Dethryl and his rules to fanfiction. *grins*  
  
******'  
  
To wake up the next morning, around dawn, and find that none of it had been a dream was unsettling to say the least. He opened his eyes, only to stare straight into a pair of silver ones, just in front of him, where Draco was standing, shaking him awake.  
  
"Wake up, sleepyhead; you're going to be late for breakfast." The blond boy said.  
  
Cole growled at him and hit him with the pillow. Draco ducked it and chuckled a bit before leaving him alone to wake up properly and get dressed. Cole grumbled, but did get out of the sinfully comfortable bed, and started searching for his clothes.  
  
He had just picked up a pair of jeans, the same ones he'd been wearing when Snape came ´abducted´ him, when Draco came in through the door again. He spotted Cole with the jeans in his hands, and got an amused look on his face.  
  
"You can't wear that; dress code and school uniforms, you know." Draco commented.  
  
"Draco, do I look stupid to you? Or are you merely blind as a bat? I was wearing the bloody uniform yesterday, and I am wearing it today." Cole asked, raising an eyebrow. "I was going through my jeans to find something I left in one of the pockets."  
  
"Oh." Draco said, looking a bit less confused than he had before.  
  
"How articulate. Now, are you going to watch me get dressed or are you going to leave me alone?"  
  
"I'm going to leave you; Crabbe and Goyle shouldn't be left alone for an extended period of time. They seem to have a habit of breaking things. You know valuable items, tables, chairs, people, that kind of thing."  
  
"Be on your merry little way then. I could use some damn privacy." Cole shot back, and began to look around for his uniform.  
  
Draco left, chuckling out loud, and Cole pulled out a small sketchbook from his jeans pocket, and proceeded to get dressed. He had, apparently, been granted the favour of wearing one of the silver and green ties that all Slytherins had. He had made the transition from tie-less to tie-wearing in less than twenty-four hours. Not bad.  
  
He picked up his walkman and, popping a CD in it, he walked out the door, to meet his first day at Hogwarts. It would prove to hold many surprises, some greater than others. But as he always had before, he would come out on top of it.  
  
The question was; would his classmates be able to say the same, when the day was at an end?  
  
*****'  
  
Pushing play on his walkman, he walked down the winding stairs to the dungeon-housed Common Room. To his surprise, nothing happened. Not a sound; not evens static could be heard. Confused, he pulled it out and checked the batteries.  
  
"Bloody hell; the damn batteries are dead! But how? I changed them yesterday." He muttered.  
  
"What're you mumbling about now?" Blaise, coming out of a door in front of him asked.  
  
"My walkman died." He said, waving the offending item in her face.  
  
"Muggle contraption, is it?" She asked, looking at it with a hint of interest.  
  
"No, it's the most magical thing in the world. I just happened to find it moments before the evil villain who was trying to take over the world revealed that he was in fact my father." Cole snorted, "Of course it's Muggle."  
  
Blaise looked mildly amused at his outburst and pulled out her wand. She muttered something under her breath, and suddenly, the walkman was working again, blasting music in his ears. He grinned by way of thanks, and headed down to the Common Room, Blaise in a tow. ¨  
  
Down there was Draco, standing by the entrance, impatiently tapping his foot. He looked immaculate, as if he had spent hours grooming his hair, but Cole knew for a fact that he hadn't. It seemed the blond boy was just born with natural good looks. Too bad he didn't have the same head start, he grinned to himself.  
  
It seemed that Blaise had that head start herself. He had to admit that the girl was stunning. Her black hair hung to mid-back and her face was one of the most beautiful he had ever seen. Yet he doubted he would ever see her as more than a face to draw and possibly a friend.  
  
Maybe it was the way she looked at Draco. Maybe it was because of himself. Maybe it was because that, she, except for the eye colour, could have been his twin. It was rather freakish. Of course, she couldn't be a relative of his; he knew who his father was, he knew who his mother was, and there was no way either of them could have been Blaise's parent's as well.  
  
He shook of his rather jumbled thoughts and greeted Draco with a cheery wave. Draco raised an eyebrow, while Blaise snorted, but Cole ignored their amused expressions.  
  
"Breakfast, lessons?" He asked.  
  
"Your speech patters are incredibly confusing at times, Cole. But thankfully, I am intelligent enough to figure them out. Yes, breakfast is about to start, and then we have, indeed, got lessons to attend to." Draco said dryly.  
  
"Good, I guess." Cole shrugged, "But right now, I'm starving."  
  
"And God help us if we don't feed you immediately; who knows what horrors will be visited upon us?" Blaise smirked good-naturedly  
  
"Now you get it." Cole nodded approvingly.  
  
******'  
  
When they entered the Great Hall, Draco and Blaise were deep in a conversation about Defence Against the Dark Arts, while Cole kept looking around, trying to take everything in at once.  
  
They sat down at the end of the Slytherin table, and Cole, being very hungry, immediately started to eat. Draco and Blaise watched in amusement for a while, before eating as well, although without the same hurry.  
  
Pushing his plate away, Cole looked around the hall, waiting for his newly found friends to finish. Once again, he noticed some of the Gryffindors, sitting across from him, were glaring at him and Draco, but mostly at Draco. He raised an eyebrow; that was certainly strange.  
  
"Hey, Draco." He said, not looking away from the Gryffindors, "Don't look now, but those Gryffindors are glaring at you."  
  
Draco looked over at the opposite table and sneered.  
  
"That's just the Wonder Trio; ignore them." He said, and turned back to Blaise, "So, any bets on which dysfunction this year's DADA teacher has?"  
  
"Any bets on who this year's DADA teacher is, first of all?" Blaise shot back, smiling.  
  
"Why are you betting?" Cole broke in.  
  
"Oh. Well, all our DADA teachers have been weird to say the least. One was possessed and died; the second was obsessed with himself and his looks, and lost his memory. The third turned out to be a werewolf, but aside from that, he's the most normal teacher we've had in that subject. In fourth year, we had a teacher who wasn't who he appeared to be, but rather personating another, and he should, by all rights, have been in Azkaban. The fifth, let me tell you, that one was crazy. Completely psychotic. The sixth, well, let's just say that I'd rather take poison than have lessons with Professor Branagh again." Draco ticked them off on his fingers.  
  
"Werewolf? Azkaban?" Cole echoed, confused. "Werewolves actually exist? And what the bloody hell is Azkaban?"  
  
Blaise seemed to have trouble breathing through her attacks of silent laughter, and Draco blinked, looked acutely shocked and confused. Cole tapped his fingers on the table, waiting for either of them to answer his queries.  
  
"Gods, I keep forgetting you're Muggle-born. Azkaban is the wizard prison. No one, except that psycho Black has ever been able to escape it without help. And even those who escaped with help were sent back again, due to the foolishness of running into Potter and Dumbledore." Draco said, after regaining his senses.  
  
"Potter who?" Cole asked, getting more confused by the minute.  
  
"Alright, now I know you're Muggle-born; everyone has heard of Potter. Saint Potter, Wonder boy, the Boy-Who-Lived. A-ringing a bell?" Blaise asked.  
  
"Nope. Snape didn't tell me much after he kidnapped me." Cole shrugged.  
  
"Kidnapped? Cole, one day, you are going to tell us what exactly happened, but not right now, since we have Charms in ten minutes and really should be going." Draco said, getting to his feet.  
  
"Right." Cole mumbled and followed him.  
  
The ´Wonder Trio´, as Draco had dubbed them, glared at the three of them all the way out. It was a bit annoying, but he pushed it from his mind in favour for his new class.  
  
*******'  
  
Being taller than average, Cole had a hard time folding himself into one of the chairs in the Charms classroom. He glanced at Draco, as his fellow Slytherin pulled out a quill, and then reached into his own pocket and pulled out a ballpoint pen, and began to draw absently in his sketchbook. And thankfully, even though it was as Muggle as they come, it still worked.  
  
When Professor Flitwick climbed on top of all his books, he blinked, and immediately turned a page in the sketchbook, and started a new outline. That guy he had to draw. Smirking a bit (something he had picked up very fast) he listened to the professor's speech.  
  
"Welcome to a new and exciting term!" The small man squeaked, "And I hope you all had a good summer."  
  
The class' answer was a sleepy murmur, but the small professor didn't seem bothered by this in the least. Apparently, he was used to the lack of reaction in his morning classes. Cole grinned; the Math teacher at Aton was like that too, with the exception that he was blind as a bat and often confused the students with chairs, tables or whatever other furniture was in the vicinity.  
  
"Today we will be practising the Shield Charm." The professor went on, "Even though I know most of you have perfected it already, it will more than likely come up on your N.E.W.T's."  
  
Cole blinked. Newts? What did reptiles have to do with anything? He remained confused until Blaise leaned over and whispered in his ear.  
  
"Nearly Exhausting Wizarding Tests; our exams at the end of the years." She explained.  
  
He nodded to show he had understood, but couldn't keep from smiling a little at the name. Wizards had strange ideas, alright.  
  
The lesson started around him, but he was just about to ask what to do when the professor came over to him, wearing a smile so wide it looked ready to crack his face in two. He was so small that he didn't even come up to the desk properly, but had to use what looked like a stepladder.  
  
"And you are the new student." Flitwick stated.  
  
Cole nodded silently.  
  
"Well, Albus has told us to give you the basics in the subject, so we will start with a simple Levitation Charm." Flitwick said cheerfully.  
  
Cole nodded again, and listened to the instructions. He had a feeling this was going to be a long day. If all lessons were like this one, he would be proven right.  
  
*******'  
  
The next lesson was, terrifyingly enough, Potions with the Gryffindors. Cole was given a summary of the last six years of Potions lessons with the same red-and-gold wearing crowd by Draco and Blaise. It summed up as "Bad. Worse. Hell." Needless to say, it made him a little apprehensive about attending the class, but when he heard Snape was teaching it, he couldn't resist a chance to torment him.  
  
So, there he was, standing outside the Potions classroom, waiting for Snape to come and let them in. The Gryffindors were lined up against the opposite wall, looking like they were about to be executed by a squad of soldiers, like in those old Western movies. The Slytherins, on the other hand, were standing across from their rivals, looking rather happy with the situation.  
  
However, some of them were only putting on a show; Pansy was there, and that girl was enough to make anyone wish they hadn't eaten breakfast. She was currently trying to hit on Cole, but he only raised an eyebrow at her, before ignoring her. That was made impossible when she stepped up right in front of him and put her hand on his chest.  
  
"You have beautiful eyes." She breathed.  
  
"Get. Off. My. Face." He hissed.  
  
Pansy only leaned forward, gazing at him adoringly. In the background, the Gryffindors were laughing. She tried to pull his face down, doubtlessly to kiss him, but grabbed her wrist, and fixed her with a glare worthy of Snape himself.  
  
"I will say this in easy, simple words that idiots such as you can comprehend; get the fuck away from me. If you ever touch me again, I will chop off your hands so help me God!" He growled.  
  
"But - "She began, pouting, making her look even uglier than usual.  
  
"No. Just shut the fuck up, and stay that way, alright?" He brushed her off, or rather pushed her away so she stumbled into a Gryffindor across the hall, who did nothing to catch her as she fell.  
  
Pansy got up and was about to say something when Snape came around the corner, and the class immediately fell silent, staring at him. Since a sneer says more than a thousand words, he let them in just as silently.  
  
Draco and Blaise sat down beside each other, and since he didn't have much of a choice, Cole sat down next to them. He scratched his chin; the beard was itching annoyingly enough, and looked at Snape expectantly.  
  
"I expressed my sincerest wishes that I would not be seeing you again at the beginning of Fifth year. However it seems like I didn't get through to certain dunderheads. It also seems I will have to put up with you for another year. You won't have to worry though; the Headmaster will be sure to come to your untimely funeral." He sneered.  
  
"How ´bout you?" Cole asked.  
  
The silence was deafening. No one had ever dared to interrupt Snape's ´Start-of-term-speech´. Ever. And now, the new students, apparently suicidal, had done so and even dared to ask a question. Obviously, something was wrong with his sanity. It appeared to have taken a vacation.  
  
"I will not come to your funeral, McLaughlin, as it would force me to stand your presence longer than absolutely necessary. I would rather you just die and leave me out of it. However, do not interrupt me again or you will be serving detention with Filch." Snape said, not even batting an eyelash.  
  
"Right-o." Cole said, grinning, "I wouldn't want you at my funeral anyway, Snape."  
  
"Do you have a death wish, Cole?" Draco  
  
"Yep. Santa Claus dreads reading my wish list every year." Cole grinned.  
  
"Can it, you two." Snape snapped, "We have a lot to do, so belt up you lot and let me speak."  
  
The rest of the class stared in amazement, but Snape ignored them and started the lesson briskly, taking points off every Gryffindor to open their mouths. Cole noticed this, but kept his mouth shut about it after Draco told him some horror stories about detention with Filch.  
  
The lesson was over too soon in his opinion, since he was starting to like Potions. He hadn't been allowed to actually brew a potion, but he'd helped Blaise and Draco cut up ingredients, and watched as Snape showed the class how to brew a certain part of the potion.  
  
The ease with which the Potions professor chopped the ingredients, and who simple he made it look only served to make Cole wish he'd come to Hogwarts at eleven years of age, since then he might have been somewhere near how good Snape was at Potions. It was outright fascinating.  
  
As it was, he was not even allowed close to the cauldron without supervision. It was rather depressing, but he managed to find something fun to do; learn the names of every potion's ingredient they handled, before moving on to learned the names of all the students.  
  
*****'  
  
Sinking down in one of the overstuffed chairs in the Slytherin Common Room, Cole closed his eyes and sighed. It had been a long day. First, he'd been given homework by the Charms professor, to practise the Levitation Charm; second, he'd gotten homework from Snape, to write a two feet long essay on the properties of a bezoar, and to the rest of his lessons had been much the same.  
  
There was no doubt magic was fascinating and wonderful, but it was also difficult, complicated and damn hard to figure out. His head was nearly imploding with all the new information that had been stuffed in it, and he had no clue of how he should ever be able to finish his homework.  
  
"Tired?"  
  
He cracked one eye open, and looked Blaise straight in the eye. She was standing in front of the chair, grinning.  
  
"If this is anything like a normal school day, please shoot me now." He said.  
  
"Oh, this is only half as difficult as a normal school day. The teachers always start the year slowly, so they don't drop all work on us immediately." Draco commented, as he sat down across from Cole. "Only Snape gave us actual homework today, and that's probably because of you, you now."  
  
Cole stared at him miserably, before leaning forward and banging his head on the armrest.  
  
"I, "He said. "Hate school."  
  
"Don't we all, Cole?" Draco asked, "And think, this isn't the worst day you'll ever have; the weeks before exams are usually when the infirmary has the most visitors; nervous break downs and such."  
  
"Noooo!" Cole moaned, nearly falling out of his chair.  
  
******'  
  
Ending Notes; alright, so there's no new OC's, but it's a new chapter. *grins* Cole is no Mary Sue. Or Larry Sue, as it was. I hope. (Tell me if you think he is) And anyone who catches the DADA teacher reference gets a free cookie. *laughs* 


End file.
